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The Fiddlers' Duel
| Article
# : |
16159 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1989 |
1,195 Words |
| Author
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Josepha Sherman
Josepha Sherman writes short fiction and folklore-based novels
for adults and young people. Her writing credits include two
fantasy novels based on Slavic folklore, The Shining Falcon
and The Deathless, and several children's books, including
Vassilisa the Wise and The Dark Gods. |
When European colonists first settled the New World, they brought with them more than mere physical possessions; they brought their beliefs, customs, and folklore as well. Among the many tales to make the Atlantic crossing is one folk theme dating from at least the late Middle Ages and common in one variant or another all across Europe, from the British Isles to the Russian steppes. It is the story of the musician--usually a fiddler, the fiddle being considered in folk tradition "the devil's instrument"--who through boasting or the breaking of a taboo such as fiddling on the Sabbath, invokes the devil himself, and is challenged by Old Nick to a battle of wits and music.
This "diabolical duet" theme has traveled widely through this continent, too, since its introduction sometime in the seventeenth century. Variations turn up in regions as diverse as Quebec, Canada, and the Ozark Mountains; it has even surfaced more gently in the country and western song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." But the following tale is perhaps the earliest variant to reach the New World, originating with the Dutch in New Amsterdam--or, to be more precise, Brooklyn.
***
Now, Joost was fiddler, and a fine fiddler, too, the finest, folk said, in all New Amsterdam. They would call him to play at weddings and wakes, fairs and feasts, and Joost--well, Joost was never sorry to show off his skill, particularly when there was eating and drinking to be done as well.
And one night, fiddler Joost was coming home alone from a wedding. Was his step a bit unsteady? Oh, Joost had been celebrating along with the bride and groom and all the party, he had, and now, as he staggered along, he saw the trees and the rocks and the fence posts swaying before him, while overhead the stars were dancing.
"Dancing with no music? Poor stars, poor stars, I'll give them some music."
So Joost took out his fiddle then and there in the dead of night, and began to play a tune for the stars. Then nothing would do but that he must play a tune for the rocks and the trees as well. But as he played--eh, what was that sound? A bell? The cool iron bell of the church tower? Joost counted the peals as he fiddled … ten, eleven, twelve … twelve! It was no longer Saturday! Now it was Sunday, and here he was, fiddling on the
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